Saving Jason
by Green Gallant
Summary: To most people he was a lost cause. Irradic, unstable Jason Todd was an enigma unto himself. So why would anyone want to redeem him? Could he even be saved? And what does Task Force X have in store for this troubled man's future?
1. One Last Final Chance

_Author's Note: Hey I'm back with another Batfic. I've hit on a creative streak lately and thought I'd try this one out. I'll let you decide if its any good or not. Let me know what you think. _

**Saving Jason**

"So what seems to be the trouble today Jason?" the physicist asked.

A young red haired man looked apathetically back at the doctor from his couch. Rather than lying down like most individuals Jason sat up on the edge with his body doubled over while he gave the doctor a bored glance.

"What more is there to say? I hate my father." he said in a low voice. The elder gentleman scribed his notes as he continued.

"A lot of people have issues with their parents. I'm sure yours are no different." The doctor affirmed.

"You couldn't be farther from the truth." He told him.

"All right then let's start at the beginning, what are your earliest childhood recollections?" the shrink asked. Jason sighed and adverted his gaze while the good doctor watched his movements.

"I grew up on the streets." He said. The doctor arched an eyebrow looking beyond his notepad and then continued.

"Go on." he said.

"I did everything I could to get by, it was just me y'know?" he shrugged.

"I see and what all did you resort to doing to stay alive?" the doctor asked.

"Stole, borrowed, brawled you name it. My parents were never around." he said.

"And so this ties into your hatred of your father?" the man asked.

"Kind of yes…and kind of no." he said shifting position bringing his leg up to his chest.

"What do you mean?" the doctor asked.

"I never knew my biological father and ran out on my mom at a young age. My issues have nothing to do with them." he said.

"Then who?" the doctor asked.

"The man that adopted me…Bruce Wayne." He answered.

"_The _Bruce Wayne?" he asked. The young man nodded.

"He has adopted quite a few children over the years I understand." The doctor noted.

"That's putting it lightly." He said.

"And you had to compete with your brothers and sisters?" he asked. A smile came to Jason's face as he thought about it.

"Oh yeah, I competed with them all right, especially Dick my eldest brother. It's funny y'know? The guy was hardly even there and yet I was always being compared to him. I was good enough, fast enough. The old man tried to mold me into his image." He said wistfully.

The doctor was a bit concerned by his revelation and once again looked beyond his notes at the troubled young man that sat before him in his office.

"And that is where this issues are born from?" he concluded.

"You got it." he said matter of fact.

"I see. Jason were you ever…abused as a boy?" the doctor asked leaning forward in his chair.

"The only beatings I ever took were on the street. No, Bruce never raised a hand against me…but at the same time he was so cold…treated me like I was second best which I was…in his eyes. He never said it, but I could tell I would never be the Robin he wanted me to be." He said.

"Your still having delusions." The doctor noted.

"Call it what you want doc, I wont deny it…cause I know you wont believe me. No one would, at least no one outside the family." Jason stated.

"Jason…" the doctor said removing his glasses.

"Bruce Wayne isn't Batman, he's a philanthropist. Why would he of all people want to run around Gotham in a Batsuit?" the doctor asked concerned.

"I don't know doc, you tell Me." he said gazing back at him.

"And this claim that you were killed by the Joker and then mysteriously returned to life. Don't you find most people would find that hard to believe?" he asked concerned.

"As a matter of fact, yeah I do." he stated.

"And now you've taken this new vigilante identity as the Red Hood and have hunted criminals in order to prove your better than your father…the Batman." He asked making sure he had all of his facts straight.

"That's the gist of it." he said without question. The doctor narrowed his eyes at Jason certain he was having another delusion.

"Jason I'm afraid we're going to have to cut this short today. I appreciate your insight, maybe someday we'll be able to figure out what is wrong with you." the elderly man said standing up and was joined by Jason.

"Somehow I sincerely doubt that." he told him point blank.

"Well I'm still hopeful that we can. It was nice talking to you Jason." He said shaking his hand.

"Yeah…you too." He muttered. A buzzer sounded as two men came in and escorted him out of the shrink's office.

The young man scuffled along as the two men carried him back to his cell with an arm locked around each of them. The pair maintained a firm grip on the young man while he thought to himself silently. They arrived back at his cell a few minutes later and ushered him in before locking the door behind him, once the cell was locked he sat on the bench and dealt with the doldrums that was prison life. Another uneventful day stuck behind bars. It was ironic, locked up with the very people he fought with and hated. Some would argue that he became that which he hated; others would say he'd always been one of them. It didn't really matter now, he knew the best way to get rid of crime was to exterminate it. As much as he wanted to believe he wasn't insane…there'd be that small part of him that knew he was. The sound of fast approaching footsteps pulled him from his thoughts as he was met with the sight of a rotund African-American lady in business attire.

"Are you Jason Todd?" the woman asked.

"Who wants to know?" he grumbled.

"How would you like to try for a get out of jail free card?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow at the heavyset woman and looked at her fully.

"Do I know you?" he replied warily.

"My name is Dr. Amanda Waller and you are hereby remanded into the United States' service under the authority of Task Force X." she said.

"The Suicide Squad?" he asked changing posture. Glancing at her for a moment he narrowed his eyes and replied.

"I'm not a criminal."

"That's not what your record says. Look at it this way Jason you can either serve the rest of your term here in Arkham, or you can have it expunged from the record and be out today. The choice is yours Jason." The woman told him.

"Like I want to be stuck in this rat hole. To be honest I'd rather take my chances here than me wrangled into one of your missions. After all Joker, Two-Face and all the others break out of here eventually. Besides last time I checked _heroes_ only serve on the Squad if their absolutely needed." He said surprising Waller.

The portly woman narrowed her eyes at the delinquent.

"But you don't want to try for amnesty? Not even the chance to set things right with the Bat?" she asked trying to sway him.

"They don't care about me." he said.

"They care about you more than you realize." She told him. He was silent before answering.

"How many missions do I have to serve?" he asked looking back at her.

"One. And I'll do all that I can to put you back in good standing with the hero community as well as Batman's." she told him. Todd smirked.

"You can't keep that promise." He said knowingly.

"You don't know what I can and cant do." she smiled back.

"One mission and I'm done." he said.

"Deal." She told him. The jail cell was opened and Jason stood up.

"You'll be back in costume in no time." she told him.

_Author's Note: This was sort of a spur of the moment deal. I'm not even sure about this one to be honest, if its any good or not. I just want to gauge a reaction and see if anyone likes it. Let me know if your intrestred and you'd like to see more. I dont think this angle has been taken before with Jason. I guess we'll see. _

_Please review, _

_Green Gallant. _


	2. Past Crimes

_Author's Note: Wow you know it amazes me how fast I'm able to pump some of these chapters out. And the plot thickens as we learn who will be on Amanda Waller's newest line up of the Suicide Squad. Enjoy. _

**Saving Jason**

**Chapter 2**

**Past Crimes**

Within the hour Jason was out of prison and was at an undisclosed location where he was given his Red Hood street clothes-styled costume. After suiting up, he came into the command center were Waller and the others were waiting for briefing. As he came into the room he took in the sight of the new team, some of them were regulars amongst the Squad others…not so much. Amongst their number were Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and Bronze Tiger all of which were perennial members of the Squad. There were several others he didn't recognize as easily. But his eyes widened when he saw the latest member of the team…the Emerald Archer.

"What the hell is Green Arrow doing with the Suicide Squad?" he asked. The agile archer averted his eyes from him.

"He's the reason this team has been assembled." Amanda said walking towards them.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"His former ward Red Arrow has gone rouge and its up to us to stop him…any way possible." She told him.

"You want us to _kill_ Red Arrow?" Red Hood asked incredulous.

"If it should come to that then yes." She told him.

"And you approve of all this?" he asked turning his attention back to Green Arrow. But remained silent.

"Some father you turned out to be." Red Hood said despairingly.

"He's not to be hurt. That's why I joined the Squad in the first place, to make sure you don't go too far in trying to stop him." Green Arrow finally said to Waller.

"That's not our decision." she said in a flat tone.

"I'm not giving you a choice! You're not hurting my son!" he yelled getting in her face.

The other Squad members grabbed a hold of Arrow, minus Jason while Waller didn't seem the least bit threatened by the archer. The rest of the Squad finally managed to pry him away from their boss; Ollie had enough and threw their weight off of him giving his teammates an evil eye.

"So then what do you expect us to do exactly?" Jason asked nonchalant.

"This mission is about as straight forward as it gets. You are to capture Roy Harper and bring him to justice, or at the very least contain him so his rampage doesn't escalate any more than it already has." She told them.

"And I don't care what happens, take him down or take him in." she added.

He had to admit of all the people in the world he didn't expect Roy Harper to lose it. He also had to admit that he didn't know him that well as a person. In fact the only time he ever met Roy was when he was with the Titans a few years back. It was only one mission, and the only reason he was invited was either because he was Robin at the time or because they were trying to extend a hand of friendship to him. Either way, that one mission meant a lot to him. Gave him a chance to step out from under the Bat's shadow if only briefly. The only thing he didn't like about the exchange was that everyone treated him like Dick and expected him to have all the answers, when he didn't even know what the hell he was doing. And it probably was for that reason he was never invited back on any other missions after the trip to Zandia. He had to remind them that he wasn't his brother and he didn't have all the answers. The team had fallen back into the old Robin-leads-the-team mindset. He wasn't sure what prompted it, if it was just a force of habit on their part since Nightwing wasn't there. But he was just a 15-year-old boy with no leadership expertise, and worse yet it was his first mission with the team. He figured they assumed he would think of something because the Bat trained him. And while that was true he wasn't really the planning type and couldn't think a plan on the fly like Dick had. He just wasn't that Robin and he hated it. They all expected so much from him and he wasn't ready, until finally he was forced to break down infront of Wonder Girl and tell her that he wasn't a leader. Donna apologized for the team's behavior and assured him that he didn't have to lead, since that was really her job to begin with.

The experience didn't leave his relationship with the team any better and soon went back to being Batman's sidekick. It wasn't long after that he'd meet his demise.

"Does everyone get that?" Amanda's voice said snapping him out of his thoughts.

Red Hood looked back at his teammates who all seemed to be in agreement minus Green Arrow. Jason knitted his eyebrows together underneath his helmet while the rest of the team departed leaving him and Arrow.

"So who called these guys?" he finally asked.

"I did…I figured if the League and the Titans couldn't get through to him…" Ollie started to trail off.

"You'd take him by force." Jason finished. Green Arrow shook his head in disbelief and gripped his own hair.

"I should have never done this." he said. Jason narrowed his eyes beneath his helmet.

"No, you shouldn't have." he said as the Archer looked back at him.

"Jason he's my son, I'd do anything for him. I've been so focused on getting him help I…didn't think of the consequences if I did…" he muttered self-loathingly.

"You know in a way I can sort of relate to him. For a long time I was angry at the world, angry at everyone else in my life. What happened to him exactly?" he asked folding his arms.

"I'm not surprised if you haven't heard the news. Star City was destroyed by Prometheus a few weeks back." Green Arrow said.

"Yeah I heard that." Red Hood told him.

"Well before that he infiltrated the League as Freddy Freeman and maimed Roy in the Watchtower. He had a contingency plan for everyone. When we finally captured the bastard, he revealed to us he had teleporters in each of our cities and would send them to other dimensions if we didn't release him. I…I had the arrogance to call his bluff…and my city suffered…but none more so than Roy…" he said.

Red Hood felt his heart rate quicken as he hung on the archer's words.

"The explosion that destroyed Star City also took his little girl." He stated. Jason's eyes flew open and a look of complete shock entered his face.

"Lian? That bastard! Where he is now?" Jason growled.

"About six feet under. You see that's the other reason why I'm with the Squad." Ollie told him.

Jason blinked a couple times in disbelief, as he stood there infront of Green Arrow.

"Yeah…I killed him." he admitted.

"I thought…I thought you guys were above that?" he asked.

"So did I. But Prometheus he pushed me to such a level…I felt like I had no other choice. But it didn't solve anything, especially with Roy. I took away his chance at revenge. And it's because of me he's out there ripped out of his mind." Green Arrow said regretfully. Jason stared back at him under his mask.

"Part of me wants to say that you brought this on yourself. But now I'm not sure what to think. I used to think I was the most messed up person out there…but now I see there are others worse off than Me." he said.

"So what are you going to do?" Green Arrow asked.

"I'll help you, I'll do all that I can to keep him alive. But I'm not making any promises. But I will say this much, he deserves a lot better than this." Jason told him.

"Thank you son." Green Arrow nodded.

"We'll have to get more people on our side if this is to work." The Hood added.

In the other room Copperhead along with Captain Cold and the other Squad members remained with Waller as she ran more information on Roy's latest activity.

"So what else do we know about him?" Cold asked.

"He's recently joined up with Deathstroke's group of Titans." She answered without looking at him.

"Heh. Why does that not surprise me? What is this his _third_ time trying this?" he asked folding his arms.

The door opened behind the team as Red Hood and Green Arrow entered the room while Amanda pulled out their opponents' dossiers.

"Here's what we know of them so far." She said bringing the images up on screen.

**"Deathstroke, Slade Wilson. International terrorist and gun for hire. Long time enemy of the Teen Titans and an occasional thorn to others. Master tactician and strategist, trained in armed and unarmed combat, expert marksman, including stealth and assassination, as well as a healing factor."** She said moving onto the next one.

**"Cheshire, Jade Nguyen. Also an international terrorist and assassin, expert martial artist and has been known to contain poisons within her sharpened nails. So watch out for that."**

**"Arsenal, Roy Harper Jr. formerly Speedy and Red Arrow. Harper is a founding member of the original Teen Titans and was once Green Arrow's sidekick. Due to his maiming and the death of his daughter, Arsenal has gone rouge and is now part of Deathstroke's team of Titans. Nguyen is the mother of his child. He is considered extremely dangerous and unstable. He is trained in all manner of weaponry as well as an accomplished martial artist. And is our target, you must use extreme caution when confronting him."**

**"Osiris, Amon Tomez. Former member of the Teen Titans whose powers were bestowed to him by his brother-in-law Black Adam giving him amplified strength, endurance. In short he's every bit as strong as Black Adam, and is responsible for the murder of previous Squad member The Persuader. His reasons for joining Deathstroke's team are unknown at this time but he is considered to be extremely dangerous so use caution."**

**"The Tattooed Man, Mark Richards. As his name implies he is able to make the tattoos on his body come to life, and could be considered to work the same way as Green Lantern energy constructs would. He has joined Deathstroke's team to avenge the death of his son, and is a former member of the Justice League."**

**"And finally Cinder, Carla Monetti. A literal flaming woman, able to generate heat and flame attacks and turn herself into a living inferno. She like all the others is considered…"**

"Extremely dangerous." The group muttered.

"We get it." Captain Cold added in an annoyed tone.

"That's all the information we have on them. Captain Cold you are assigned as team leader. Think you can handle that?" Waller asked.

The villain smirked as he stepped forward and pulled out his Cold Gun pointing the weapon straight up.

"Without a doubt." He said.

"Then let's get started. Your mission begins now." Waller told them.

_Author's Note: All right so what'd you think of that? I noticed while I was writing this that the tone I guess has changed from what I originally thought would happen. That being said, I may consider renaming the story and probably even reworking the summary. It just depends on where this story goes, just a little fair warning in advance. All right so they've recieved their mission specs and are about to faceoff with Deathstroke's team. Needless to say this should be intrestring. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Let me know what you think. _

_Please review, _

_Green Gallant. _


	3. Catering to the Enemy

_Author's Note: All right I'm back with another chapter, I'm still impressed with how well this story has been received that really means alot guys. Thanks for all the reviews, faves and alerts encouraging me to write more of this story. And so it gives me great pleasure, because you asked for it the next chapter of our story. Enjoy. _

**Saving Jason**

**Chapter 3**

**Mission Specs: a.k.a Catering to the Enemy.**

As they left the Ops Center, Green Arrow and Red Hood remained a few steps behind their criminal compatriots. Watching his teammates movements infront of him, Red Hood nudged Ollie's arm

"So what do you know about this Copperhead guy?" Jason whispered.

"What?" Green Arrow whispered back. Jason darted his eyes forward and silently removed his helmet to speak more clearly.

"What do you know about snake man?" he asked.

"Copperhead? I've heard my share of stories of him. From what I've heard this is a new one, real psychopath. Heard he tried to kill his baby brother when he was little and wound up on the streets for a while like Mia did. As far as I know he has the same skills as the original. And quite possibly even more deranged. I'd steer clear of him if I were you." Green Arrow advised.

"And what of the others?" Jason asked.

"Well I'm sure you already know Captain Cold, of the lot I'd say he's a little more trustworthy than the others. He doesn't kill _most_of the time, but he may make an exception if you step on any toes. Deadshot is kind of the same way; he's ambiguous, but loyal when he needs to be. Boomerang will turn on you in an instant to save his own hide. And from what I've heard he's an incredibly cheap bastard as well, once sold out his team for 75 cents." Arrow added.

"Are you serious?" he said surprised.

"You can't make this crap up." Ollie said shaking his head.

"Jesus, how is this guy not dead?" he asked.

"Funny you should ask." Ollie replied. The team started looking over their shoulder at the pair as they continued walking.

"What do you want?" Jason snapped disengaging them.

"What about that guy?" he asked looking forward.

"Bronze Tiger, he's kind of a wild card." Ollie told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He's worked with both the League of Assassins and the Squad, served a couple of missions with this group. From what I hear he's one of the best martial artists around, even bested Batman once." Ollie told him. Jason frowned as he thought back.

"I remember…that's how the original Batwoman died. I read it on the Batcomputer once when I was Robin. Took Bruce a long time to get over It." he said.

"If your finished with your little powwow back there. We're about to leave." Captain Cold called back to them from the front.

"So what do ya make of 'em two Cap'n Cold?" Captain Boomerang whispered.

"To be honest, I don't like it. The Arrow's only here because of his boy, but that Red Hood is something of a wildcard." Cold answered.

"What do ya mean?" he asked.

"The boy's a little too unstable for my liking, at least from what I've heard about him. He's far too willing to kill and that could make him something of a liability. We best keep our eyes on both of them if we're to make it out of this alive." Captain Cold told him.

"Right." Boomerang replied.

"If he gets out of line, I'll shoot him dead myself." Deadshot told them.

"That's why you're on this team Floyd, you're the wrangler. The one that ties up loose ends." Cold explained.

"Don't insult me Cold, I know damn well what my job is on this team." Deadshot retorted.

"You seem…calmer." Ollie noticed as they climbed on board the ship.

"The doc has me on anti-psychotics, it helps clear my head." he admitted.

"I see." Green Arrow said.

"As long as I keep taking them I shouldn't have any problems. Don't tell the others that." he whispered.

"I wont." He said.

"I get the feeling I wont exactly be welcome on this team." Jason added.

"You and me both." Ollie replied as the rear hatch closed up behind them.

A few hours later in Gotham City, Deathstroke and his gang were in the Penguin's backup estate in Gotham Hills.

"I hear you've been having problems in Gotham." Deathstroke stated.

"Waugh. That's the understatement of the year. With Batman gone the city delve into chaos." Penguin said as he helped himself to a sardine and swallowed it from a small, regal couch.

"That goes without saying, and yet someone's managed to throw you out of Gotham." The assassin replied.

"My own gang had turned against me, I was left with nothing!" the Penguin yelled looking up at him.

"Word has it Two-Face has been run out of town as well. Any clue on who the new crimelord is?" he asked. The Penguin narrowed his eye as he told them.

"His name is Black Mask, he's a new guy. I remember there were rumors going around that it was the one Catwoman killed, with all that Black Night junk going on I wouldn't have been surprised. But this is a new one, last I heard he blew up the old Asylum and then put me and Two-Face's mobs against each other. If you thought the last one was sadistic this one is even worse. He destroyed both our power bases simultaneously something the last Black Mask could never do. Apparently this guy is so bad they sent the National Guard after him. He's been holed up in a part of Gotham called Devil's Square. That's all I know about him I'm afraid." Penguin told him.

"Hmm." Deathstroke said narrowing his eye.

"Kind of makes you wonder how Batman's been dealing with him." Arsenal said crossing his arms. Penguin looked up at Roy and noted his gold cybernetic arm.

"And what in blazes happened to you?" he asked the Titan.

"It's a long story." He retorted.

"So how do you propose we get him out?" he asked his boss. The enigmatic assassin pondered this for a moment.

"We could always take the direct approach." Tattooed Man added. Cheshire and the others looked back at him.

"What? I don't see anyone else giving suggestions." He defended.

"Don't you think that'd be a little too obvious?" growled Cheshire.

"Our only other option is to have someone on the inside." Arsenal said to Slade.

"The only problem is that it would take time for them to be implanted within the group. Something we don't have." The Terminator replied.

"Then we're really going places with this." Arsenal snipped.

"The boy may be onto something Slade, and in case your forgetting my men already work for him. So in hindsight this might actually work. All we need to do is find someone that's still loyal to me." Penguin toted.

"I'll need a list." Deathstroke said turning to him.

Penguin grinned and waddled over to a filing cabinet behind his desk and opened one of the middle drawers before pulling out a file and made his way back over to Deathstroke.

"Your in luck Deathstroke, my boy. It just so happens I keep a list of employees on me at all times. One has to stay on top of these things to know that his men are worth trusting. And Marty 'The Shark' Stravinsky is one of those men." The paunchy villain noted.

Deathstroke took the page and skimmed over it with his eye.

"He's buried deep within Black Mask's ranks somewhere in the middle. He should be the perfect candidate for our inside man. He's been getting roughed up by Batman for years and hasn't cracked yet…at least as far as I know." Penguin said with pride.

The assassin looked down at the porky aristocratic villain, who smiled back at him with his long black cigarette holder in his mouth.

"So where can I find this man?" he asked.

"They should be making a shipment to Black Mask's men tonight in the warehouse district." Penguin told him.

"Good. Come along Titans, we've got a job to do." he told the Villains for Hire.

_Author's Note: I actually had a good part of this chapter done, till I got stuck on this one part. Since people have been asking me to update I felt this was as good of a time as any to finish the chapter and post it. As you can tell, I've been slowly building things up trying to think of an appropriate challenge not just for the Suicide Squad but for Deathstroke's team of Titans to undertake since their both essentially mercenary groups. Which bring us to this plot point, hope you guys like it. And I guess we'll see how it goes from here. Let me know what you think. _

_Please review, _

_Green Gallant. _


	4. Villians For Hire

_Author's Note: All right I'm back with yet another chapter. I hope you guys like this next installment. I had some readers ask if I'd put Dick Grayson into the story. So here you go. _

**Saving Jason**

**Chapter 4**

**Villains For Hire**

Back in the Batcave, Dick Grayson had been keeping tabs on Gotham as always keeping up with the latest criminal activity through the Batcomputer unaware of the contract made between Penguin and Deathstroke's team of Titans. For some time now since his acquisition of the Batman title, he's been keeping a close watch on Black Mask's criminal cartel the being responsible for throwing the Gotham underworld into chaos.

Since the death of the original Black Mask, a new one has taken the reigns of the old criminal empire headed by the late Roman Sionis. And up till now it had been a complete mystery as to who the new Black Mask was. Every night he has been keep close watch on the villain's activities which included blowing up the original Arkham and setting Penguin and Two-Face's gangs against each other while simultaneously undermining their activities. Grayson has had the misfortune of facing Black Mask himself and nearly lost his life while under the haze of hallucinogenic gas courtesy of the Penguin. Who had hoped he would kill Black Mask himself and destroy _his _power base for Penguin's own gain, a plan that failed in spectacular fashion and nearly got him killed.

Even now Dick was still recovering from that hellish night. His head still throbbed from the gas he was under and his body still ached from the bullets and the 50-foot fall into Gotham Harbor. But still he endured aiming to find out the identity of the newest crimelord.

Somewhere over the Midwest the Suicide Squad's jet made it's way towards its destination. With Captain Cold at the helm the team received a message on their overhead communications screen as the council made a high-pitched beep.

"Yeah." Cold said flipping a switch as Waller's face appeared on screen.

"We've just received word of the Titans' newest contract." She told them.

"Go ahead." He said.

"According to our source, Deathstroke has been commissioned to assassinate Black Mask for the Penguin." She said. The Squad looked up in surprise.

"And how exactly do you know this?" Cold asked.

"That doesn't matter, you have your orders." Waller said.

"What about Black Mask?" he replied.

"Whatever happens, happens that is not your primary concern. You are to capture Arsenal through any means necessary." She told them.

"Where are they?" Captain Boomerang asked.

"Devil's Square, Gotham." She said.

"Setting a course now." Cold said setting the coordinates while the jet made its way to Gotham City.

In the Batcave an alarm sounded on the computer showing a map of the city before zooming in on the source of the disturbance that revealed a delivery truck. Dick stood up from his chair as a tiny box showed up next to the truck labeling it an arms shipment. He turned towards the display case that housed the Batsuit that was still riddled with bullet holes in the chest and symbol. And narrowed his eyes as he looked at the tattered suit and cape looking absolutely ragged before turning his attention to the Nightwing suit he hadn't worn in months.

Within the city itself a block from the warehouse district Deathstroke and co. went undercover shedding their iconic costumes in place of their civilian wear. Slade ironically enough choosing a white shirt and jeans with a leather jacket, Cheshire wearing a green and white baseball shirt with writing on it and jeans with her long dark hair tied back, Tattooed Man wearing a jacket covering his tats and a hat, Arsenal wearing a red hoodie and gloves with the hood pulled up, and Cinder powering down and wearing her regular clothing. The group silently made their way up the street to intercept the arms shipment intended for Black Mask's men. Once they were within the vicinity a truck pulled up in the cover of darkness where Mask's men were waiting. The Titans ducked around the group behind the crates lining the area and remained hidden while the truck's rear door opened up with a man standing inside.

"Richards throw me your hat." Deathstroke ordered the Tattooed Man.

His lackey looked back at him bewildered before handing him the cap that Slade used to cover his own white hair. Richards took a hanky out of his pocket and used it as a du rag. The thugs remained guarded as the shipment of automatic rifles was delivered to them. The team remained hidden behind the crates and watched the transaction, while the hoodlums checked out their new weapons. The Titans remained on edge waiting for orders, while at the same time hoping they wouldn't be discovered. However that wouldn't last as one of the men came up behind them putting the barrel of his assault rifle against Cheshire's neck.

"Let's go." The man in the ski mask told them.

The others looked back at their leader who shook his head telling them not to escalate and quietly gave themselves up. The other gangbangers looked back as their guy came around the corner with the Titans in tow. The man in the truck bed got down and went to approach them.

"What do we have?" he asked taking off his mask.

"I caught them snooping around." the gunman told his superior.

"Who are you guys?" the man infront of them asked.

"We're part of a cartel Black Mask acquired." Slade answered.

The man looked at Slade whose face was partially obstructed by the Baltimore Orioles baseball cap he was wearing, and studied the faces of his men and women.

"I've never seen any of you before." the man stated.

"You'll know us soon enough." He smirked.

"I sincerely doubt that my friend." the man smiled back as an armored Batman came out from behind the truck. Slade's eye widened in shock as did his teammates as the figure emerged.

The Batman in question wore a heavily modified Batsuit with mismatched armor plating splayed across his body, with a bandolier across his chest; a utility belt full of lethal weapons, two large hooks on shoulder where his cape rested, and a metal faceplate covering his mouth with glowing red eyes, and a pistol in each hand.

Deathstroke narrowed his eye as the rouge Batman approached them, however the fear in his Titans' eyes was more readily apparent. The militant Batman stopped short and aimed his right pistol at the leader's head.

"Wait!" one of them yelled. Another hoodlum stepped forward with brown unruly hair and glasses saving them.

"It's okay they're with us." Marty The Shark said stepping forward.

"What makes you say that?" his boss asked.

"They're part of Penguin's old gang, their legit." He told him.

"Then why were they sneaking around on us?" the man asked. Marty struggled to come up with an answer. The man nodded and Batman shot him in the chest.

"Now that's just uncalled for." Deathstroke said as other Titans were now ready to battle.

"Just one less problem to deal with." the thug smiled back.

"Now!" Deathstroke yelled as they leaped into action.

Gunfire erupted from the thugs and the Batman as Cheshire lunged forward and slashed several of the men with her poison nails. Deathstroke punched out the man that ordered his lackey killed and set his sights on the 'Batman'. Tattooed Man threw off his jacket as his magical tats came to life and erupted off his body attacking the men at once. Cinder activated her fiery form and sent her fireballs at the men firing at her. Arsenal threw off his hoodie shoving it in one man's face and kneeing him in the stomach before taking out his knives ready to face the others. Cinder engulfed a dozen men in flames burning them alive in an instant. Deathstroke took out his gun and took aim at faux-Batman over the heads of the other thugs. Batman leveled his own and shot another one through the back of the head while aiming at Slade. Deathstroke looked down at the freshly dead thug in disgust and returned fire. The Batman retreated as bullets bounced off his chest while returning fire at Slade with the villain chasing after him.

"I don't know who you are pal, but you're no Batman. Not by a long shot." Slade said as he continued firing.

The Batman got up to the cab and threw one of his guys off before getting in the truck and took off with the shipment. Slade continued to chase him and stopped before firing several more shots at the truck. The delivery truck rounded the next corner and raced up the street leaving his men behind to be massacred. Those that were fortunate scattered as the battle quickly dispersed with the Titans left standing.

"Well that was a bust." Arsenal said sheathing his blades. Cheshire looked back at the place where Marty The Shark was shot and walked over to where he lay joining the Tattooed Man who stood over him.

"He's still alive." Cheshire stated.

The others made their way over to Marty who had a bullet wound a few inches from his heart.

"Are you Penguin's inside man?" Tattooed Man asked. Marty nodded too badly injured to speak

"Guess I failed you guys." he managed to say. He was just a kid though, probably in high school or college.

"Call an ambulance." Deathstroke ordered.

"Excuse me?" Cheshire asked.

"That was not a request." He told her. The woman complied and started dialing.

"Gotham PD should be here soon enough after all that racket. We best move." he told the others.

"Your getting soft Deathstroke." Arsenal joked.

"Even I have standards. Now that Black Mask knows we're here we don't have any more time to lose. Come along." He ordered.

"Who the hell was that armored Batman?" Cheshire asked.

"I have no idea. But if Black Mask is behind it, then that should give us an idea of what we're up against." Deathstroke answered.

_Author's Note: This story is becoming really complex isnt it. Its certainly evolved in a way I never would have thought when I first started writing it but still intrestring nonetheless I'm hoping. I bet you guys didnt see this latest twist coming. So now the lines are slightly blurred with this focus on Deathstroke's Titans. And I imagine Anon will probably eat it up, but can you please can it on the whole hero/villian philosophy? I dont really care about that since philosophy has absolutely nothing to do with the story. There are of course different shades of villany and not all villains as we've learned in the last few chapters are completely evil. I guess it kind of goes along with the overall tone of the story. TV Tropes would probably call the three factions Black Mask, Titans and Suicide Squad as Chaotic Evil, Chaotic Neutral and Chaotic Good respectively. I'll have to look it up and see if that's really case. But again the whole several shades of villainy aspect. Let me know what you think of it. I cant wait to get started on the next chapter. I do have one question though. Should Dick Grayson appear as Batman or Nightwing in this series? _

_Please review, _

_Green Gallant. _


	5. Twilight of the Red Hood

_Author's Note: All right I'm back with another chapter of our ever expanding story. Consider it an early Christmas present from me to you. I continue to be impressed at how well this story is doing, both in terms of writing and the response. Want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, enjoy. _

**Saving Jason**

**Chapter 5**

**Twilight of the Red Hood**

As the Suicide Squad's jet approached Gotham City, Jason Todd stood at the helm behind Captain Cold as they came into his hometown. The amoral vigilante stood there with arms folded as they came over Gotham Harbor and past the Statue of Gotham. The jet veered to the left coming dangerously close to the 200 ft tall granite woman wielding a sword and shield, its guardian and sentinel.

"That'll get GPD's attention real fast." He commented to Cold.

"Quiet, I know what I'm doing." the villain muttered as he brought them down.

A few moments later a series of police blimps appeared behind them with red lights flashing.

"Attention, this is G.C.P.D. you are in a forbidden airspace. Turn around now." an officer's voice, ordered them.

"That was a little faster than I imagined." Red Hood added.

"Land you jet now." police ordered the aircraft.

"We don't have time for this. Deadshot if you would." Cold ordered.

The villain walked to the back of the jet and opened the hatch creating a vortex that threatened to pull out his compatriots as well. The villain leveled his wrist-mounted machine gun at the airship behind them and opened fire on the blimp. Several bullets broke through the glass that miraculously missed the officers piloting it. Deadshot continued the assault raising his arm up towards the dirigible's balloon canopy and ripped it open. The airship lost altitude and fell into the bay while the two remaining police blimps returned fire.

"You guys always pull shit like this?" Green Arrow asked as he struggled to remain upright.

"You get used to it" Cold said taking evasive action against the gunfire while Deadshot covered their rear flank.

Back at Suicide Command Waller leaped out of her chair outraged at what they were doing.

"What part of _stealth mission_ don't you understand?" she barked.

"We're just having some fun fatso, relax." Cold told her as he continued to evade fire.

Waller grit her teeth and broke through police frequency from her computer.

"Disengage this is official government business. Disengage!" she yelled.

"Who the f#ck is this? This is police frequency!" another officer yelled at her.

"I am Amanda Waller with the United States Government, the plane you are currently engaged with is on official government business. Disengage now." she ordered.

"Look lady, unless you can somehow prove it. I strongly suggest you get off this frequency and let us do our jobs or you will be arrested for interfering in police business." The officer warned.

"And I'm telling you to…" but was cut off as the police officer ended transmission. Waller slammed her fist against the council.

"Who does he think he is?" she growled.

"This is Commissioner Gordon what the hell is going on out there?" the man barked through the radio.

"We caught this jet flying over the harbor and told them to turn around or land and then the sons of bitches started shooting at us. And some woman broke through our frequency saying their government agents." The officer replied.

There was silence on the other end before Gordon responded.

"Disengage pursuit." He ordered.

"What?" the lawman asked.

"Disengage pursuit. If they're who they say they are then we need to hear them out." Gordon said.

"Yeah well try telling them that. They're still shooting at us!" he yelled as bullets whizzed past them.

"F#ck this, our safety is more important than national security right now." the pilot said returning fir and hitting the jet's rear stabilizer and made its decent into the bay.

At that same moment the Batwing appeared overhead. The Suicide Squad's jet crashed near the shoreline before running aground with flames erupting from the wings. Deadshot was knocked out of the plane on impact and was in the water while his teammates remained on board. The door blew open as Captain Boomerang ran for it into the cover of darkness. The canopy on the Batwing blew open as Batman flew into the air and descended onto the downed jet. Inside the Squad had yet to recover from the crash when Batman happened upon them.

Jason caught sight of the Bat's form and hit him before he could even reach him catching him off guard. The Batman staggered back as Jason came at him with a flying kick to the chest and nailed him against the cabin wall and yelled at his teammates to go. And threw another punch that was snatched by Batman and returned the favor knocking Jason back. Red Hood collapsed and slid back spread eagle infront of his teammate. Batman rubbed his jaw as he walked over to the downed hoodlum.

"That's enough Dick." Green Arrow said standing over Jason.

"Green Arrow? What are you doing here?" he asked

"It's a long story, this plane actually belongs to the Suicide Squad…and I'm with them." he said.

"Say what?" he asked and was kicked in the chest by Jason yet again.

"You should have stayed away Dick." He said getting up ninja style.

"So I see they finally recruited you into the Squad. I was beginning to wonder when that might happen." Dick commented while doubled over.

"Shut up!" he yelled drawing his gun.

"I didn't ask to be a part of this." he told him.

"But you're along for the ride. So tell me, what strings did Waller pull to get you out of Arkham?" Dick asked.

"That's none of your concern." Jason told him.

"Red Hood, Batman knock it off now!" Green Arrow yelled.

"You stay out of this old man. I've got some old business to finish." Jason barked behind his mask.

"I bet you do." Dick replied.

"Your part of the reason I wound up like this! You had to be the perfect little Robin for Bruce. Something I could never live up to." He told him.

"How is that my fault?" he asked keeping his distance.

"Cause you were all Bruce ever talked about." Jason answered, Dick's eyes widened upon hearing this revelation.

"What?" he said stunned.

Jason opened fire nearly grazing the left ear of his cowl while Jason emptied his clip on Batman. The Dark Knight dodged and hurled his Batarang at Jason slicing the back of his hand before Batman lunged at him. Jason aimed his gun one last time but was taken down by his brother delivering a hit to the face. Jason pistol whipped Batman in the neck trying to get him off till Ollie grabbed both of them and banged their heads together which unfortunately for Batman meant Jason's helmet, before Green Arrow whirled around and threw both of them simultaneously into opposing walls.

"Now both of you listen to me! We're on a mission here to retrieve my boy, and we're not getting anywhere with the two of you playing Alpha Male!" he yelled.

The Bat groaned and shook his head while cradling it while Jason moaned slumping against the wall.

"Now both of you get up. We don't have time for this!" berated Arrow. And went so far as to pick the two men up himself.

"Captain Cold and the others are probably at least half a mile away by now." he added.

"Did you have to bang my head against his?" Dick moaned.

"Sorry. Both of you tend to be hard headed at times." apologized Ollie.

"Argh. What the hell is that thing made of?" he said still cradling his aching head.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" replied Jason.

Batman shook his head getting back on track with Green Arrow.

"This mission your on, what is it?" he asked.

"We're sent to recover Roy from Slade's Titans." He answered.

"Roy's with Deathstroke?" he asked. Arrow nodded.

"I'm afraid so." He said.

"But why would…I mean, of all people?" Dick asked.

"He's not in his right mind. You of all people should know that Dick." Said Jason.

"We need to break him out of Slade's influence." Dick said.

"No shit Grayson, no wonder why you're the World's Greatest Detective." Jason replied cynically.

The Dark Knight shot his one-time successor a glare worthy of Bruce himself. Luckily Green Arrow broke it up before they could go at it again.

"The longer we argue the closer Roy is to dying." He said.

"Wait, what did you say?" Batman asked.

"That's exactly why I'm on this mission. We need to find him before the rest of the Squad does." Green Arrow told him.

"Then we better move fast." Batman replied before moving out of the jet.

"We'll take the Batwing." He added as the jet lowered itself. Dick fired a line and launched himself into the air, grabbing Green Arrow while he in turn grabbed Jason.

Once on top of the wing Dick and Ollie jumped into the cabin before Jason could get in the canopy closed leaving him on the wing and took off. Jason flew back and grabbed the rear deflector of the left wing. A smirk formed on Dick's face as they flew into the city. Jason hung onto the stabilizer for dear life as the Batwing went into a barrel roll with him in tow. His rampant cursing being drowned out by the jet engine.

"I'm going to get you for this!" he yelled.

"I think your enjoying this a little too much Batman." Green Arrow told him.

"When's the last time Bruce had this much fun?" the pilot mused.

"I'm thinking this is his idea of fun." Green Arrow countered as Batman did another barrel roll.

"Will you knock that shit off you…" the rest was rendered inaudible as the afterburners kicked in.

"So where is the Suicide Squad headed?" Batman asked getting back to business.

"We're supposed to track down Deathstroke's squad. Our only intelligence was that they're here in Gotham." Green Arrow replied.

"Figure. Don't members of the Squad have some sort of tracers on them that blow up if they try to leave?" Batman asked.

Green Arrow crossed his left leg revealing an ankle bracelet.

"Why do you have one?" he asked.

"I thought it'd be fun." He joked. Batman raised an eyebrow beneath his cowl.

"Now I just think your crazy." He stated turning back to the front.

"So is there a way of finding these tracers on radar?" he asked.

"Well sure, I mean they're tracers that's what they do." Green Arrow told him as Batman tried to track down the tracers' frequency.

On the ground Captain Cold and the rest of the Squad are several blocks ahead of Batman, Green Arrow and Red Hood. The villains worked quickly through the city while citizens ducked inside their homes upon seeing the supervillain run through their streets. Captain Cold looked at some of the Gothamites and sneered while pressing onward.

From the Squad's base in New Orleans, an alarm was triggered on the computer signaling the Green Arrow was several blocks away from team leader Captain Cold. Sitting at the control, Waller pressed a button to show the actual location of Green Arrow and Red Hood and saw that they were on the Batwing. Waller narrowed her eyes now knowing that Batman had been brought into this, and flipped up a square cover revealing a red button with a black and yellow striped border around it. A light flashed on Ollie's ankle bracelet signaling that he was out of range while at the same time so did Red Hood's.

Captain Cold's Squad issued watch went off as he looked down at the radar showing the location of the team and the separated teammates.

"Looks like Arrow and Hood are about to bite the big one." He said while running. Captain Boomerang and several of his teammates grinned at the prospect.

The beeping on Arrow's bracelet became more erratic gaining its owner's attention.

"I don't like the sound of that." said Dick.

"Yeah, we may have a problem." He said looking down at the device as the light flashed.

Outside of the jet Jason's leg band flashed as well but couldn't hear it over the roar of the engine. However he managed to look down and saw the light flashing.

"Oh fuck." He said narrowing his eyes.

Inside the cabin Green Arrow worked furiously to deactivate the tracker. Batman reached into his belt and handed him a pick to pry it open and succeeded in doing so.

"Ollie cant you just take that thing off?" he asked.

"You think I hadn't tired that?" he asked while messing with it.

"Ollie!" he said looking over his shoulder.

"Crap!" Ollie yelled.

"What?" he asked.

"I just remembered Jason's out there." he said still working on his device.

"Damn it!" yelled Dick and opened the hatch to try and save Jason.

"Jason your tracker!" he yelled.

"I know about the tracker! And by the way you're an asshole!" he yelled back still hanging off the ledge. Batman stepped onto the wing and leant out his hand.

"Take my hand!" he yelled to him.

"You know the one thing that's great thing about this? If I go you're coming with me." Jason said while struggling to hook his right leg over.

"Jason come on I'm sorry. Give me your hand." he said.

Jason continued to struggle under his own power but relented and threw out his hand to Dick. The Dark Knight leaned forward and took hold of him. Inside the cockpit Green Arrow continued to work feverishly on his own ankle brace. Back in the Suicide Squad command chamber Waller watched the exchange between Batman and Red Hood with her hand still hovering over the self-destruct button. Batman had finally managed to pull Jason back onto the wing while the jet hovered above the city. Batman knelt down and started to work on Red Hood's tracker to disable it with the beeping more urgent than ever signaling that the end was near. It was there he made a decision.

"Look Grayson, as much as I hate to admit it you are better than me…at a lot of things." he said.

"Don't talk like that, it's not over yet." He said while working on the device.

"No, it is. This world needs you a lot more than it does me Grayson. See you around." he told him.

"No don't!" he yelled as Jason fell back to the city below.

"Jason!" he yelled leaning over the edge.

Jason fell towards the city with his body parallel to the buildings ready to face his fate head on. Batman leaped off the wing firing a grappling ling at Jason wrapping around his legs while he fired a second line back at the jet. Jason took out his gun and aimed at the line firing it. Green Arrow finally managed to get off his tracker and threw it out as it exploded next to the Batplane throwing it around. Batman as a result was hurled around in the air on his Batline while still reaching out to Jason as the second blast went off next to him.

**To be continued...**

_Author's Note: Wow..okay um, what can I say? This is a rather shocking end to this chapter, in all I think this is the closest I've come to protraying Jason's personality and his fractured relationship with his brother Dick Grayson. Is this really the end of the Red Hood? Find out in the next chapter. You can start hating me now..._

_Just so you know, I didnt really plan this in advance. My stories and chapters, have a habit of taking on a life of thier own. I'm just along for the ride. lol. _

_Merry Christmas guys...heh. ^^_

_Please review, _

_Green Gallant. _


	6. Confrontations

_Author's Note: All right I know you guys have been eagerly anticipating this next chapter for quite a while. So I've done my best to update it as soon as possible. Hope you guys like it. _

**Saving Jason **

**Chapter 6**

**Confrontations**

The Batplane had finally stabilized after the explosion as Batman hung on the rope in shock his hand still grasping at the space Jason had occupied only moments earlier. The look on the Batman's face was one of complete horror having witnessed the end of the former Robin. His mind was completely locked out as he hung there grasping at the air where Jason once resided. From inside the cockpit a shell shocked Green Arrow recovered from the earlier blast and saw Batman hanging by the rope. His breathing grew rapid as he looked around and saw that Jason was nowhere to be seen. The archer sighed and bowed his head pinching the bridge of his nose in grief, realizing that Jason was gone.

Green Arrow soon crawled out of the rear seat of the cockpit and cautiously made his way out to the wing to retrieve Batman.

"Batman, Dick! Can you hear me?" he yelled but the Bat was unresponsive.

"Hold on I'm pulling you up." he said and did so manually.

The sudden jolt of the rope broke him out of his stupor and exhaled the breath he didn't realize he was holding. Things sped up around him as he looked around realizing where he was, and who wasn't with him. He groaned and bowed his head as Green Arrow continued to pull him up. He was about halfway done as Dick pondered painfully on what'd just happened and threw his free arm around in anguish before looking up at Green Arrow and found he was close to the wing.

"Why didn't he let him help him?" he yelled.

"Its okay Dick just let it go." He told him.

"I can't let it go! Don't you get it? He's dead! I was trying to save him! Why did he do that?" he yelled back.

"It's okay son." Green Arrow answered trying to calm him down. Dick shook his head.

"I failed him Ollie…just like before." he said being pulled onto the wing.

"Jason did what he knew what the right thing. He knew you wouldn't deactivate it in time and he chose that fate for himself. He died a hero Dick." He said resting a fatherly, compassionate hand on his shoulder.

"He didn't have to die, I was almost finished." He said and sucked air in through his teeth, his face contorted into a scowl and yelled.

"You idiot! I was almost there! Why'd you do it? Why?" he yelled cursing Red Hood while Green Arrow stood over him.

"Dick...we cant stay here." He said picking him up.

"Come on we gotta go." He added knowing that they had to leave the area for Dick's sake.

The pair climbed into the cockpit with Grayson taking the helm.

"Maybe I should fly." Ollie told him.

"This isn't the Arrowplane it's the Batplane." He told him.

"Yeah but your not really in the best shape to be flying." The archer said trying to reason with him.

"I'm fine really." He said getting into his seat.

"I know I'm going to regret this." Ollie said getting in behind him. The canopy closed as the Batjet took off.

"The radar has locked onto the Suicide Squad's location." Dick said regaining his composure.

"I'm taking her in." he added diving between skyscrapers.

A couple blocks from Black Mask's stronghold in Devil's Square the Squad continued running with Captain Cold leading the charge. On the block parallel to them was Deathstroke's team of Titans who were headed in the same direction.

"Oy! Cap'n Cold…cant we sit n rest for a spell?" Captain Boomerang asked lagging behind.

"Come on and keep up Boomerang your five years younger than me for crying out loud!" the leader yelled running at full burst.

"I bet he'd keep up if there was a doughnut infront of him." Deadshot joked.

"That's not funny ya damn wanker!" he yelled back and his teammates laughed.

"For someone who spends half his life running from cops and capes you're slow as hell." The assassin added.

Boomerang muttered to himself as he tried to keep up with the rest of the team. On the other side Deathstroke were back in costume running at full burst with Slade leading them. A few blocks ahead the truck delivering the cache of firearms from earlier pulled into Black Mask's stronghold in the Devil's Square. Making it through security the truck pull inside the building where the armored Batman got out of the truck and was soon met by his employers.

"What happened?" asked Doctor Death.

"There's been a complication." The Batman replied.

"Complication? What kind of complication?" the bald scientist asked.

A few minutes later the Batplane reached the Squad's location and Dick immediately ejected out of the cockpit, landing infront of the oncoming Squad. The villains skidded to a halt as the sullen Dark Knight stood before them sheathed in his cape before grabbing Captain Cold by the throat and slamming him into a nearby wall. His face twisted into a scowl as he choked the team's leader.

"What are you doing in my city?" he growled. Cold continued to gag while gripping the Dark Knight's wrist.

"Now take it easy here Batman, we're just out here on a mission." Captain Boomerang said trying to reason with him.

The Dark Knight's foot flew out and nailed him in the chest, his teammates reacted as he threw Captain Cold into the other Squad members. Bronze Tiger bounded up the brick wall next to him avoiding the collision and dropped in on the Bat. Batman threw his leg around in a roundhouse kick that was grabbed by Tiger and held him in place. The Dark Knight grit his teeth and threw his other leg at him. Bronze Tiger blocked it with his forearm and threw him headfirst into the wall.

"Now I don't know what's gotten into you Bats, but you better listen to us and listen good." He told him.

Batman growled as he struggled to get up, Bronze Tiger restricted his movement still holding onto his legs.

"We had nothing to do with Red Hood's death." He told him.

"But he was aligned with you." Batman snarled.

"Once again we had nothing to do with it. The reason he got blown up was because he strayed too far from us. That's your fault." He replied.

Batman's eyes flew open and his breathing became heavy.

"Now if I have to break your legs I will." Bronze Tiger told him.

"Batman!" Green Arrow called out descending from the jet.

"That's enough." He said landing in their midst. The Bronze Tiger looked back at him before throwing down his legs and turned toward Green Arrow.

"We can't help what's happened to Jason, we have to complete our mission." The archer said.

"I'm glad one of us is keeping his head here." Cold said rubbing his neck.

"We need to find the Titans so we can put a stop to whatever it is they're doing and bring back Arsenal." Ollie replied.

"An how exactly are we supposed to do that mate?" Captain Boomerang asked with fists akimbo.

He looked back at the criminal and went for his Squad issued communicator.

"Waller this is Green Arrow, we need the current location of the Titans. Think you can do that?" he asked.

At the base Amanda narrowed her eyes and a slight 'humph' was heard as she proceeded to do so.

"I can track them through Brother Eye." She answered typing the commands on screen.

Above the Earth, the Metahuman tracking satellite was brought on line and aimed itself at North America and started zooming in on Gotham. And had determined a close approximation of the Titans' current location having narrowed it down to several blocks.

"They're headed to a section called Devil's Square." She told Green Arrow.

"Devil's Square?" he asked.

"Black Mask's stronghold. Its not far from here." Batman answered.

"You think they're trying to assassinate him?" he asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Batman told him.

"Let's move!" Green Arrow said as he and Dick returned to the Batwing.

"Oy! What about us?" Captain Boomerang yelled as the Batwing took off leaving them behind.

"Does that answer your question? Damn it! If they get to the kid before we do then we don't get paid!" Captain Cold griped.

"Come on!" Deadshot yelled running past them. The others quickly ran after him with Captain Boomerang once again lagging behind.

At Black Mask's stronghold the armored Batman told his superior Doctor Death about what happened.

"Sir, Deathstroke and his team of Titans are here in Gotham. They tried infiltrating our group when we made the delivery. I managed to get away with the cache." The armored thug told him.

"I assume you took care of them then?" Doctor Death replied. The faux-Batman looked away. The bald scientist's face twisted into a scowl behind his glasses.

"You didn't kill them? What the hell are we hiring you for? You're supposed to take care of that stuff!" he yelled.

"Sorry to barge in like this." Deathstroke said gaining their attention.

The pair looked up to see the Terminator and his team on a catwalk directly behind them with Slade carrying an assault rifle and his foot propped against the railing ready to strike.

"Is Black Mask home?" the assassin asked.

"Kill them!" Doctor Death ordered as his men opened fire on them.

"Titans go!" Deathstroke ordered as they leaped into action, with Slade firing his assault rifle at Death and the faux-Batman.

Doctor Death fled while Batman took to defending his subordinate and returned fire with his twin machine guns. Cheshire was among the first to land and raced towards Mask's and started scratching them with her poison claws, while simultaneously using her martial arts prowess. While Arsenal took out an Uzi as he descended and started mowing down Black Mask's men. Tattooed Man released the mythical inked beasts from his body and laid wasted to a horde of them. Osiris hovered a few feet off the ground and unleashed his fearsome lightning on the unfortunate men, electrifying the ground they stood on. While Cinder advanced forward hurling fireballs at the other men towards the back. She didn't hit any of the men unlike her comrades but rather had created a path for her and Deathstroke. The faux-Batman continued firing at him, who blocked the oncoming bullets with his sword.

Deathstroke hurled himself in the air while the gunman followed him. Firing at him as Deathstroke the Terminator came at him and brought his sword down on the villain, slicing his gun in half. The barrel fell off a moment later surprising at armored Bat who was punched out by Slade.

"Your not even worthy of it." he said.

The Titan leader looked up to see Doctor Death retreating and pointed his gun at the doctor's back and fired. The doctor staggered and fell to the floor before making his way over to the downed villain. Doctor Death groaned as he laid facedown on the floor and struggled to get up while Deathstroke approached him.

"Your lucky I only grazed your shoulder doctor, now then…where is Black Mask?" he asked standing over him.

The sound of footsteps on a metal staircase was heard above him as the figure revealed himself for the first time. A man cloaked in a robe as dark as the night made his way to the catwalk and clasped the railing infront of him as he stood over the Terminator. The assassin looked up to see the leader of the Gotham underworld perched above him in his signature skull themed mask with red eyes burning back at him.

"So you managed to break into my sanctuary have you? I must admit it's rather impressive you and your team were able to." Black Mask said.

"It wasn't exactly difficult." Slade said narrowing his eye at him.

"So then, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting the illustrious Deathstroke the Terminator?" he asked.

"I think that's rather simple don't you? I'm going to kill you." he stated.

Across town a groan was heard from garbage heap in an alleyway as a trashcan toppled over and a stray cat ran away scared. A human leg covered in denim was visible as the leg flopped down from its previously upright position revealing Jason splayed out in the garbage heap apparently whole. Red Hood groaned and started to move once more reaching for his forehead and felt the metal of his helmet. Jason took off his helmet and grasped his head in agony as he sat up and examined his new surroundings.

"How the fuck do I survive these things?" he wondered aloud. And saw a church steeple overlooking the alleyway he was in.

"Well I suppose that's one way." he muttered.

His cradled his head as he tried to remember how he survived the hellish explosion. He remembered that an explosion went off near the Batwing before his did. Must have been Green Arrow's. The force of the blast must have knocked him back away from the plane. He remembered reaching up to grab the bomb strapped to his ankle and managed to cut it off at the last second and threw it before it went off. How he survived the 50 ft fall to where he is now was another question. He looked up and saw a hole in the stripped awning above him and figured that must have broken his fall along with the mountain of trash he landed in. He staggered around and put his weight on his ankle. It hurt for only a moment but he worked past it and was standing once again. The Hood shook his head disoriented and picked up his helmet, before placing it back on and made his way out of the alley.

Back at Devil's Square, Deathstroke leveled his gun at Black Mask on the catwalk who wasn't the least bit intimidated by him.

"I must commend you on your audacity of coming into my lair. But did you really think it would be that easy?" Black Mask asked as more of his men surrounded the mercenary and his teammates.

And was soon followed by thundering footsteps that resounded throughout the warehouse. The team looked around trying to locate the source of the ominous noise in the darkness while Black Mask's False Faces cocked their weapons at the intruding Titans. In the next moment the noise subsided as an eerie silence settled upon the complex. A loud crash broke the silence as a large destroyed crate was thrown at them. Deathstroke retreated as the crate landed where he once stood. The Terminator skidded back with a hand to the pavement as he rejoined his team.

The figure finally revealed himself as a mountain of a man clad in what appeared to be a torn up version of the Bat costume, with the right side of the costume torn completely off showing a muscled chest with the Bat symbol tattooed across it. The left side and leggings of the uniform remained in tact for the most part and included part of a ravaged cape, and had a tube running from his arm up to the back of his head, with a mask that was a combination of his namesakes.

"What the hell is that?" yelled Arsenal.

"BAT-BAAAAAAAAAAANE!" the figure yelled.

"Oh hell." He added.

And finally a third figure dressed in white appeared to them wearing what appeared to be a ghostly version of the Batsuit with a miniature scythe-like weapon attached to his right hand with a similar rebreather apparatus over his mouth. While the armored Batman from earlier covered them from behind with his remaining machine gun.

"This just keeps getting better." Roy said as he looked around at the combatants. Black Mask chuckled and raised his hands.

"Allow me to introduce to you the Three Ghosts of Batman; Bat-Ghost, Bat-Bane and Bat-Devil. Welcome to the worst day of your lives!" he said.

_Author's Note: All right since I figured you guys would kill me if I didnt reveal Jason was alive in the next chapter. Well...what can I say. Obviously I never intended to kill him since he IS the main character of the story, and it wouldnt make much sense otherwise to do it. So yeah your welcome. It was never a question that he'd survive, if I could I would have waited till the next chapter at least to reveal it, but I'm afraid my readers might revolt against me if I did. XD So yeah this story just keeps getting more and more complex, and I kind of like it. The Three Ghosts of Batman was no accident. I've wanted to do this for a while. All right so now that's all said and done, its time to hear your reaction and comments to this latest installment. Let me know what you think. _

_Please review, _

_Green Gallant. _


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